Friday, April 6, 2012

On Wisdom

Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

T S Eliot (Thank you Jim)******************Hello George*****************Lately I have been concerned with some topics that often make me crawl a little bit, or a lot. The main heading on the banner that flaps above my head is the word "importance." What is important and what is not and how do we know which is which.

I look around my home and I see stacks of books, too many books. I bought the books because I considered them important. They are books about things that I consider important, or used to. I think back over the years and realize I have spent many hours in obligatory reading, too many hours. Now I have a stack of books I will donate to the library, not because they aren't important but because I will never get to them. There are some books that will never leave me until the moment I step out of the dark forest.

Then there is the time wasted doing nothing. I don't mean recreation and relaxation, sports, dinner parties, having drinks and laughs with the boys. I mean hours spent shamelessly doing nothing, Maybe years.

The really terrible part of those wastes is the heart breaking sense of loss one eventually feels. Opportunities we didn't take advantage of, mistakes we made that were never corrected, people we should have remembered but forgot about, can grip us like a biting, relentless winter wind until we know how to get past them.

What do you do when all your obligations are no more? Maybe your life was filled with a lot of happiness and so you have some great memories. It is tempting to sit and contemplate the good old days. But to me that's as bad as obligatory reading, not bad to dip into now and then but not to spend the years of one's life in the past. Memories are good if they are good ones, but they are of the past, not of the present or the future. And there are still a lot more good memories to make.

You may have accumulated a lot of knowledge along the way, but you are never too young to ask yourself how much wisdom you have really won for yourself. To know things is good, to understand them is even better, but to really see how all things fit in the overall cosmic scheme of things, to have a universal awareness, to be enlightened, is best. Every step in that direction is a joyful one. a vital one.

True wisdom is far above information and knowledge. I have a lot of information, some knowledge, a spoonful of wisdom, but I am humbled in the realization of what it is possible for me to experience. I am in a dark forest of ignorance and fear, but I know the light is there and once I step into it information, knowledge, ignorance and fear will disappear, leaving the clear, still waters of wisdom as my preparation for enlightenment.

3 comments:

Another thought provoking reading today DB.....yes, things will be better once you allow yourself to step through the haze of darkness which I know you will dear, hope you reach that stage very soon, what a comfort that will be to your heart.

yes, wisdom is most important, db. it took me awhile to learn that. and with wisdom finally comes true enlightenment, truth, which is most important of all. Truth. We must learn more and more everyday, allowing ourself to be guided, i believe of course, by God. allow Him to lead us into all wisdom. He can do this in many ways -- through books, through experiences, through others, through that still small voice -- but however He does it, He will continue to teach us and mold us into the ways of wisdom if we are truly open to Him. and what a beautiful experience it is. this took me such a long time to learn. He will lead us into all truth, but it is a process, and sometimes we have to change our minds about some things along the way during the process in seeking truth. and then there are other times where we know something is solid and we don't ever change our mind o n it. but what i am trying to say is that He will lead us and give us that wisdom if we are truly open to it, and He will show us the mysteries of life, the way to live our lives right, and how to live with Him forever in Heaven. He will show us how to treat Him nice, other's nice, and ourselves properly also. And if we are open to Him, He will lead us into all Wisdom and Truth, even if it takes us our whole lifetime, or we don't get it all until the world to come (Heaven). And believe you me, I'm humble enough to know that will be me, the world to come, LOL. but i am thank and praise the Lord that He has also given me a spoonful of wisdom also, as he has given you wisdom also. and i am glad you share your wisdom with me, db, for you are a good friend.

About Me

I am an actor and broadcaster. I am grateful to have spent my life in the arts. Now I also write and paint. I am humbly trying to overcome selfishness, it's effects and regrets. I read history, philosophy, psychology and religion. My desire is to share what I have with the world while trying to make sense of a difficult life and enjoying the journey, no rituals, no rules, no summations.